March 18, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



259 



first coined by Sir David Wilson in Ms " Pre- 

 historic Annals of Scotland " to express the 

 " whole period " (age or epoch) " disclosed to 

 us by archeological evidence as distinguished 

 from that knovm by written records," down to 

 the present it has retained in scientific litera- 

 ture its original meaning. It distinctly refers 

 to a portion of the human period (epoch or 

 age). I fail to find Dr. Schuchert anywhere 

 using it in any different sense. He certainly 

 nowhere " begins the Psychozoic era " with the 

 "historic period" as claimed by Professor 

 Field. In spite of the latter's protest, there- 

 fore, I fail to see wherein I have misstated his 

 position. For in between his " mastodon " 

 .(mammoth ?) " preserved in the arctic ice," 

 which is admitted to be a fossil amd his " leaf 

 buried in the gutter," which is not, there is a 

 vast deal of time, from younger to older — 

 historic, prehistoric and geologic — from only 

 the last of which — the glacial or interglacial 

 portion — ^would traces of organisms be con- 

 sidered fossil. Neolithic man is not fossil; 

 some of the remains of Paleolithic man are 

 fossil. Both are prehistoric. 



Recurring to the propriety or the practise 

 lof using the term " fossil " in other than its 

 strict scientific sense, the question presents 

 itself: how about the use of other geological 

 terms in analogous senses? In an article in 

 the last Geographical Review entitled " Race 

 Culture and Language," the author, Grif&th 

 Taylor, is found applying the terms " inlier " 

 and "outlier" (giving credit to geology for 

 the idea) to certain races in Europe. The 

 former is applied to the Basques, because they 

 constitute an island of ancient people sur- 

 rounded by younger races, and the latter is 

 applied to the Finns because they are a body 

 separated from the main ethnic group to 

 which they belong, and with which they were 

 once continuous. Most of us, I think, will be 

 disposed to congratulate Professor Taylor on 

 the felicity of these expressions, regardless of 

 how much Professor Field may shake his head 

 over the liberty taken with geological termin- 

 ology. 

 1 Arthur M. Miller 



Univeesity of Kentucky 



THRICE TOLD TALES 



To THE Editor of Science: Referring to 

 the letters of Professor Wood'- and Professor 

 T. C. MendenhalP (semper juvenis), I too 

 have a story about the Lick Observatory; and 

 following their lead, hasten to make it public; 

 and then will patiently wait for the various 

 transmutations. Perhaps some one will prove 

 a similar occurrence in the days of Archi- 

 medes ! 



Going up to the observatory in the stage 

 with its load of Saturday night tourists, 

 suddenly one of them asked aloud — " Who was 

 this Mr. Lick, any how? Did he invent 

 the telescope ? " 



Shades of Galileo! It is time to come 

 forth and be filmed as Professor Mendenhall 

 suggests. In the cast we could have a tourist, 

 same species as Professor MendenhaU's 

 "damned fraud" person. He will be shown 

 asking — "Who is this Mr. Galileo anyhow? 

 Did he build this leaning tower?" 



Alexander McAdie 

 Blue Hill Observatory, 

 February 16 



AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS AND INTERNA- 

 TIONAL EXCHANGE 



In a note just received from Professor 

 Charles Julin, of Liege, he mentions the 

 present unequal international exchange and 

 how difficult it is, in consequence, for the 

 Belgian universities to obtain foreign publica- 

 tions. He says that separata from our Amer- 

 ican workers will be most welcome, and asks 

 that this suggestion be brought to our stu- 

 dents. I think the fact is quite generally 

 appreciatedi, but it can do only good to bring 

 it again to our attention. 



Maynaed M. Metoalp 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



History and Biiliography of Anatomic Illus- 

 tration. By LuDWiG Choulant. Trans- 

 lated and Edited by Mortimer Frank. The 

 University of Chicago Press, 1920. 



1 Science, January 14, 1921. 



2 Science, February 11, 1921. 



